Accession consists of records related to the military career of Corporal Tamar Freeman, particularly her 6-month deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Included is postcard and email correspondence sent to her parents detailing issues of camp life, her religious observance, as well as her role as a medic; a DVD of the film "Sisters in Arms" written and directed by Tamar's sister, Beth Freeman; newspaper clippings and articles on Tamar and the film "Sisters in Arms"; photographs of Tamar receiving an award from the Canadian Jewish Congress, of her family greeting her at the airport upon return to Canada, a portrait of Tamar with another soldier and General Hillier, as well as images taken of fellow soldiers and the surroundings while in Afghanistan.

Administrative History

Corporal Tamar Freeman (1967-) is the daughter of Harvey and Gilda Freeman. She began her military career as an army reservist in 1990. As a reservist, she committed one day per week and one weekend per month to working in hospitals on board ships and in defence research facilities. In 2006, she joined the regular infantry as a medic in the Second Field Ambulance unit. She served in Kandahar for 6 months between 2006 and 2007 as a medic treating wounded soldiers, Afghan allies and civilians. She also served as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team at a village medical clinic. She received the Alan Rose Award for International Human Dignity from the Canadian Jewish Congress in 2007. Corporal Freeman is currently stationed at Base Borden in Ontario.

Use Conditions

Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing some of the records.

Descriptive Notes

Use restrictions note: Personal emails are confidential and require the permission of Tamar Freeman before accessing.

Video recordings of Transnistria Survivors' Association's annual commemomoration ceremonies (Haskara) that took place at Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto in 2006 and 2007.

Administrative History

Founded in 1994, the Transnistria Survivors’ Association works to provide a voice for and raise awareness of a lesser known group of Holocaust survivors. Transnistria was the Romanian authorities’ name for the former Ukrainian region located between the Rivers Dniester and Bug. It was placed under Romanian administration following the German and Romanian conquest of Ukraine in the summer of 1941. Prior to the Second World War, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish population in Europe; but beginning with the Citizenship Revision Laws of 1938, the Jews of Romania were deprived their citizenship rights and became the targets of repressive antisemitic policies and laws. Neighbours turned on neighbours. Thousands of Jews were murdered in pogroms, either by Romanian or German troops, Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or the local population. In 1941, the Jews who remained alive in the Provinces of Bucovina and Bessarabia were deported to camps and ghettos in Transnistria. Thousands were jammed into freight trains while others were marched by foot. Many died along the way. Between 1941 and 1944, it is estimated that German and Romanian authorities, along with Ukrainian collaborators, murdered or caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews in Transnistria. Some of those who survived these tragic circumstances, especially from Bucovina and Bessarabia, and made a new home in Toronto gathered together to lend each other support and to tell their largely unknown story of oppression and survival. The Transnistria Survivor’s Association organized yearly Hazkarah (memorial) services and its dedicated members continue to share their extraordinary stories of survival through speaking engagements at schools, colleges and synagogues. Past presidents include:

1. Felicia (Steigman) Carmelly

2.Osias Nadel

3.Etti Ziegler

4.Lou (Leizer) Hoffer

As of 2017, the current President is Joe Leinburd.

Subjects

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

Name Access

Transnistria Survivors Association

Hoffer, Lou

Places

Transnistria (Ukraine : Territory under German and Romanian occupation, 1941-1944)

Accession consists of material documenting members of Harvey Freeman's family, several of whom served in the armed forces. Included are: family photographs, a Krugel family tree, a copy of Itzik Kriegel (Harvey's grandfather)'s army discharge, an attestation paper for Louis Krugel (Harvey's uncle), a signed program for a "stag whoopee dinner and night of blissful freedom" in honour of Lou Krugel's approaching marriage, and printed images of Harvey's daughter Tamar Freeman in Afghanistan. One of the photographs depicts Louis Krugel with professional wrestler and actor Tor Johnson, aka the Swedish Angel.